This invention relates to an improved stapling system. More particularly it relates to a locking ring and apparatus for clinching such locking ring.
Staples have long been used to join two materials together. The staple normally consists of an open loop piece of metal. The loop is normally closed by the use of a staple gun, which includes a die at its end for bringing the free ends of the staple together or close together. An example of a prior art stapling system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,118 issued Jan. 18, 1977, to Jensen. Another prior art staple system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,031,889 issued to Himberger. Both of these prior art patents show staples commonly referred to as hog rings wherein their free ends are brought into contact with one another.
While these two systems will work quite well for certain end uses, a need has arisen to provide a strong locking ring which will be adequate to hold wire screen together under high tension. A particular need is in the erosion control industry, where large metal baskets are formed using wire mesh. These baskets are filled with large rocks and placed in areas where erosion is prevalent. It has been shown that the above-described prior art staple systems simply are not adequate to hold these baskets together when in place. Currently these types of soil erosion baskets are manufactured using a very labor intensive method of hand-winding wire about the places on the basket to be joined.